musetouch_issue_22

musetouch 

Visual Arts Magazine 

ISSUE 22 JUNE 2012 

Kathrin Longhurst Omar Ortiz Valentina Brostean Benoit Courti Agaphya Belaja 

Leslie Ann O’Dell Jan Mark Janiaczyk Ken Pegg Yuehui Tang Ilia Izachic Isaev 

musetouch.org

In the middle of the night, under the gloomy moonlight, to the gentle 

sounds of violins...we danced the tango. He was wearing a golden mask. 

The mask on my face was snowy white. 

Step by step, move by move. His body was touching mine. My body was 

touching his. He put down his mask. The next one was green...face of the 

monster. I put mine down. The next one was purple...face of the gentle 

fairy. The violins were playing stronger and louder. We were dancing 

more passionately. He put down the green mask and the next one was 

red. I put mine down ....Red. He was holding me strongly in his arms. 

I could feel the warmth of his body, his breath, his heartbeats. Eyes to 

eyes. Suddenly he let go of me and fell down to his knees. He threw the 

mask off and I saw a frightened little boy in front of me. He was crying. 

I threw down my mask too. I caressed his face. 

Are you wearing a mask too? What color is it? Put it down and be yourself, 

be proud and strong no matter what others think. What ever happens, 

you will never regret it. 

I want to thank to my dear friends Ljiljana Bursac, Nini Baseema, 

Kiyo Murakami, Jelena Grujic, Murielle Mirabelle Velay Michel, Natalie 

Shau, Ian Furniss, Bolek Budzyn, Thierry Bruet, Dejan Bogojevic, 

Gines Serran, Mark Sadan and to our dear readers. 

Maia Sylba

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THE FORM OF 

BEAUTY 

blog 

by Nini Baseema 

KIYO MURAKAMI 

photography 

theformofbeauty.tumblr.com 

www.kiyomurakami.com

ACADEMY OF ARTS FOUNDATION 

To draw public support and to popularize the Russian Academy of Arts I. E. Repin Institute 

of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture, Saint Petersburg “Academy of Arts” Foundation 

has been founded in 1996. 

General objective, pursued by The Foundation, is domestic and foreign promotion of I.E. 

Repin Institute’s students and graduates through expositions and media projects. 

Web site of the “Academy of Arts” Foundation (www.academart.com) has been created in 

1999. To familiarize the broad audience, comprising museums’ and private galleries’ personnel, 

collectors and amateurs of fine arts with the avenues, explored by The Foundation, 

it was further revised and updated on 2002 and 2011 years. 

Website organized as online galleries of the artists graduated, teaching and studying in 

the I. E. Repin’s institute. Main goal of the gallery is providing the best creative artworks 

by academician artists all around the world. Foundation’s online gallery united over 50 

well known figurative artists with recognizable manner and progressive style from Saint- 

Petersburg. 

Worldwide promotion of Saint-Petersburg modern figurative art is main strategy of the 

Foundation’s activity. 

Outstanding paintings of the most of participants in Foundation’s projects combined 

classic traditions of figurative paintings with contemporary mentality. 

In the nearest perspective of the our activity is creating of wide database of I. E. Repin’s 

institute graduates for last 50 years. We also provide online exhibitions of the best works, 

artists and important art themes. 

Knauer is talented female photographer. Johanna was born in 1988 in Passau, Germany. She 

is doing media studies since 2008 and is dedicated to photography and image editing since 

about 2 years. 

www.academart.com

MUSETOUCH MAGAZINE June 2012 

Editor 

Maia Sylba 

Graphic designer 

Dejan Silbaski 

Contributors 

Nini Baseema 

Kiyo Murakami 

Ian Furniss 

Cover 

Christian Martin Weiss 

MUSETOUCH is a magazine about visual arts. It has been created by Maia Sylba out of a love and passion for 

art with the hope that people will be able to use the publication and website as a platform to showcase their 

skills and gain recognition. 

Facebook 

facebook.com/musetouchvisualartsmagazine 

Twitter 

Linkedin 

Mail 

twitter.com/musetouchmag 

linkedin.com/in/maiasylba 

maiasylba@gmail.com 

Submission Guideline 

If you want to contribute to the next edition, you can send us an email with your data and a PDF file that 

shows your works, also a link of your website if you have any. 

We would love to see your art so don’t hesitate to contact us and welcome. 

All artwork in this magazine is copyright protected under the MUSETOUCH Magazine brand or remains 

property of the individual artists who have kindly granted us permission to use their work. 

musetouch 8

Benoit Courti 

Embrace 

Valentina Brostean 

Inner Voice 

010 

Omar Ortiz 

Out of Space and Context 

Agaphya Belaja 

Far Away 

210 

Yuehui Tang 

Real Fantasy 

058 

244 

Ilia Izachic Isaev 

One has to Feel It 

Kathrin Longhurst 

Reality Escape 

098 

Leslie Ann O’Dell 

Enigmatic 

272 

Ken Pegg 

The Viewer 

126 

Jan Mark Janiaczyk 

Forgotten Beauty 

304 

176 

332 


Benoit Courti 

Benoit Courti is a french photographer living in Paris. 

Fascinated by photography since his childhood, he first embraced a career as a music composer 

before becoming a professional portrait/art photographer in 2010. 

musetouch 10 

benoitcourti.4ormat.com

Embrace 












musetouch 22




































Omar Ortiz Out of Spa 

Omar Ortiz was born in 1977 at Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico where he still lives. Since he was 

a boy he has been interested in drawing and illustration. He studied for a degree in Graphic 

Design, where he learned different techniques such as hand drawing, pastels, charcoal, water 

colors, acrylics and airbrushing. When he finished college he decided to make a living from 

painting. In 2002 he attended his first oil paint classes with the artist Carmen Alarcón, who he 

considers his main teacher. Omar Ortiz currently works with oil painting because he considers 

it the noblest technique. 

A minimalistic - hyperrealism characterizes his work, where white colors, human body and a 

magical fabric play predominate. “His paintings act like intimate pieces, trapped in themselves, 

outside of space and context” He has showed in Mexico, Spain, Netherlands and London. 

“Since I started painting I have always liked to represent things as real as I can, sometimes I 

succeed sometimes I don’t, what is a fact is that it is very hard for me to do the opposite. I enjoy 

the challenges of trying to reproduce natural light and the nuances that gives us, particularly in 

bright environments. I like to keep the simplicity of the pieces because I think excess makes us 

poorer rather than richer.” 

Omar Ortiz 

Exhibitions 

2005 “Petalos y Espinas” - Espacio del Arte Televisa - Guadalajara Jalisco Mex 

2005 “Artistas Plasticos Contemporaneos de Guadalajara” - Culiacan Sinaloa Méx. 

2008 “algo mas que realismo” - Zaragoza España 

2009 “lijst-in gallery” - Roosendaal Holanda 

2009 “summer exhibition 2009” - blackheath gallery - London UK 

2009 “the figure” - blackheath gallery - London UK 

2009 “christmas exhibition 2009” - blackheath gallery - London UK 

2010 “Petalos y Espinas” - Museo Regional de Guadalajara- Guadalajara Jalisco Mex 

2010 “summer exhibition 2010” - blackheath gallery - London UK 

2010 “in your face” - blackheath gallery - London UK 

2010 “Colectiva”- Plus One Gallery - London UK 

2011 “Winter Show”- Plus One Gallery - London UK 

2012 “Art Revolution Taipei”- World Trade Center, X Power Gallery -Taipei Taiwan 

2012 “Summer Show”- Rarity Gallery - Mykonos Grecia 


ce and Context 


“The Mexican painter Omar Ortiz, despite his youth, should be considered as an unquestionable 

figure of realistic painting. His beginnings in the oil back to the year 2002 and since then has 

shown a mastery that lifts him among the greats. 

Technically was formed with the painter Carmen Alarcon, though its stylistic and thematic inspiration 

is closer to the hyper-academic painters like the Chilean Claudio Bravo and Hungary 

Painter Istvan Sandorfi. 

In his work we find four constants: 

- The pursuit of beauty 

- Concern the tactile 

- Printing of apparent simplicity 

- And the love of color. 

Beauty is an essence that emanates from each of his paintings. In the search for female nudes in 

the classical tradition in exquisite proportions in serene faces and a touch of sensuality. In his 

still lifes, the ideal of perfection is shown in minute detail, of honest patient, who invites us to 

reflect in silence on the passing of time. 

Enjoy these oils with the view, but the meaning is really excited touch. Seeking hands caress, feeling 

the thin skin of the models, check the quality of the fabrics or take one of the fruits stacked. 

The brush gets deceived. Light and shadow create a corporeal entity. We feel the calm breath of 

young women. The cloth hanging out of the box appear. The shells are edible ... 

No fancy distracting the viewer’s attention. Bodies and objects are presented in simple compositions 

but not hollow. Figures are individualized, they do not need a fund for support. They alone 

are the protagonists in their own right. The painter has no doubt of its expressive and so the 

magnificent large format. 

Color is another of his hallmarks. The target is almost always present and illuminates in a 

thousand shades his work conveying purity and energy. In the series of paintings are hung with 

cloth variety. Here not only interested in the texture of the object but also create beautiful play of 

colors. When you use the red is passionate and brilliant. Its yellow and gold are bold and luxurious. 

The black in his paintings is not the absence of color.” 

Introspective: Female Diety 


omarortiz.wordpress.com






































Yuehui Tang 

Yuehui Tang was born in 1974 in Mulan city, Heilongjiang Province. He studied at Art College 

of Harbin Teacher’s Univeristy, Major in oil painting. In 1999 he graduated from Herbin 

Teacher’s Univeristy art department. When at school, the reprehensive artworks are “Difficult 

Years”, “Hundred of Years”, “Slent Wind”, “Isolation” which have won several prizes in Herbin 

province. 

In 2003 “Spiritual Tree” won the second price of National CDV Wacom Art show. In 2005 

“Flying to the Moon” won the prize of the Excellent Single Piece in the First Chinese CG International 

Show. In 2006 “Rain of Petals” won the gold price of Shenzhen First CG Show. In 

the same year “Tang Yuehui CG Arts Collection” was published. In 2007 “Mermaid” won the 

Nomination Price in the AACC Asian CG Competition. 


cgtnt.com

Real Fantasy 
























musetouch 122




Kathrin Longhu 

Who are you Kathrin? 

I am a figurative painter living in Sydney Australia. I grew up in Communist East Berlin. I 

have been drawing and painting my entire life. I started taking life drawing classes at the age 

of 14. I was selected by the local school authorities to partake in extracurricular art activities 

but there was no room for “Freischaffende Kuenstler” – independent artists – in East Germany. 

The plan economy called for industrial designers, which would have been my destiny if 

I had stayed in East Germany. 

I grew up under constant Stasi surveillance. My divorced mother, desperate to escape the 

imprisonment of East Germany, started gambling with our welfare and safety by liaising with 

Westerners when I was about 7 years old. I remember returning home from a holiday and 

finding our apartment had been searched. The Stasi, the East German Secret Police, had gone 

through all of our belongings. On another occasion my mother had been taken in for interrogation. 

She was held for 24 hours and was threatened to loose her children if she didn’t cooperate 

and give up information on the Westerners she was seeing. 

Also my dad had run-ins with the Stasi whilst doing his military service near the border. On 

a drunken night he told his best friend, that he was wondering what it would be like to jump 

that wall, even though he’d never intended to. The next day he was given 20 min to pack his 

bags and was moved to a different post in the country. Everybody was reporting and spying 

on everyone else. 

As a child I was blissfully unaware of any of the gruesome things my parents endured and 

happily joined the Red Pioneers, a communist youth organisation established to gently prepare 

children for a life dedicated to communism. Here and through the public education I 

first came in contact with communist propaganda art. Many school excursions led to the Palace 

of the Republic with its extensive art collection of epic paintings of activists, sport heroes 

and freedom fighters, war heroes, soviet cosmonauts and more. Through these excursions I 

was also introduced to the German romantics like Caspar David Friedrich and Carl Spitzweg, 

who’s art were hailed in both East Germany as well as during the fascist regime in pre-war 

Nazi Germany. I had never seen an abstract painting. Not until I was 17 I learned about 

abstract art at the Louisiana Museum of Art in Denmark. Abstract art was banned as being 

bourgeois and capitalist privileged to only a few, not for the people. 

We were able to leave the country and moved to Scandinavia after a Swede married my 

mother two years before the wall finally came down in 1989. 

Those early childhood experiences, such as living under constant surveillance and being integrated 

into the communist youth organisation heavily influenced my life and later my path 

as an artist. Art for me became a kind of reality escape. Sometimes a Western relative would 

smuggle in a Western fashion magazine and I would devour it in secret, dreaming of places 

far away, beautiful dresses, jewellery and luxury. 


st Reality Escape 


This imagery would then fill my canvass. The paintings becoming an act of rebellion. 

For a long time I shunned my past. I remember lying about my origin when people asked me. 

I did not want people to think I was the poor cousin from the East, nor did I want them to 

ask questions and label me as ignorant, brainwashed or naïve. I didn’t want to be judged by 

where I came from - stereotyped. It is not until recently that I have fully embraced my roots 

and my history. I realise now that I witnessed an important part of our history. 

The result is that I now bring the heroines from my childhood back onto canvas in slightly 

changed form. My heroines are a satirical take on the propaganda images I was surrounded 

by. They are by no means meant to be taken seriously or meant to be a historical depiction of 

the time. I happily blend eras, countries and symbolism to create an eclectic mish-mash of 

propaganda and pin-up. I’m experimenting with different mediums and am currently working 

on a series of paintings on Perspex that include stencilling and graffiti spray painting. I am 

using this technique to replicate some of the poster style art I saw when I grew up. 

I feel immense fulfilment in being able to contribute to the Australian art scene. I have been 

involved in numerous artistic ventures, I started an artist collective, ran a gallery, given art 

workshops to bereaved parents, raised tens of thousands of dollars for Children’s Medical 

Research through my art and am now actively involved with Portrait Artists Australia as Vice 

President, helping organise exhibitions around the country, running their website, promoting 

our over 100 members and educating the public about the fine art of portraiture. 

When did you realize that you are an artist? 

I believe in manifestation. I have felt I am an artist my entire life but have not been able to say 

it with confidence until I printed it on my business cards – Kathrin Longhurst: artist. I manifested 

it to be and it was. 

What’s the best and worst parts of being an artist in today’s world? 

Being an artist is not an easy choice. I’m an idealist and like most artists I’m driven by the 

desire to change the world and to leave a mark on this planet. A decision I frequently doubt 

especially since income is so fluctuating. 

What is the contrast between the intent of your art and the perception of it? 

Ha, I love how people interpret my work and I love how it evokes feelings in the viewer. I 

rather have people reacting negatively than being indifferent. Especially my latest body of 

work gets quite a few reactions. 

Someone commented on one of my paintings: “This almost made me vomit – I hate communism“, 

obviously this person had projected their own story and interpretations onto the 

artwork and didn’t recognise my intended satire and irony. 



What aspiration as an artist is most important to you? 

As a painter I want to document contemporary conceptions from a very personal and emotional 

perspective in a way that other mediums cannot do, eventually being a catalyst for 

change. 

Where do you see yourself in let’s say...10 years? 

I’d love to head overseas more and showcase my work internationally. I love where I am at, 

love the galleries I am working with – I think there’ll be some fun years ahead. 

MS 


kathrinlonghurst.com














































Ken Pegg The Viewer 

“I had a slightly auspicious start in life, being born in the transit lounge of Hannover airport. 

Like many young boys, I received my first camera in my early teens and soon started developing 

my own films and prints, eventually mixing my own developers. 

In my twenties, I worked for two, now long defunct, London photo libraries. I specialised in 

travel photography, producing images that were used in travel books, advertising and TV news 

backdrops. After about eight years, the ‘work’ aspect had completely killed my interest in what 

once had been my hobby and I put my cameras (Bronica S1, Linhof Technika, Pentax K1) away. 

It wasn’t until about 5 years ago, that by chance, I discovered how far digital cameras had come 

and on impulse, I bought a Nikon D70 and not looked back. By coincidence, I had left photography 

for computing and amongst other things had written a DOS based graphics program, so 

Photoshop fitted me like a comfortable old shoe. 

Ironically, I had spent my early photography career excluding all human activity from my images, 

because this dramatically reduced the shelf-life of images. Today I shoot exclusively people. I 

am determined that my favourite past-time shall never again become a job. There is no commercial 

pressure and I have the good fortune that I only need to please myself. I am frequently told 

that my photographs have a painterly quality and this is probably due to the fact that I filled my 

past-time, prior to returning to photography with portraiture oil painting. My principal camera 

these days is a Nikon D3, but I have recently acquired a Nikon D800 and expect that it will soon 

become my main body.” 

Ken Pegg 


kenp.1x.com


































Valentina Broste 

Valentina Brostean is an European painter & illustrator who currently lives in Turin (Italy) 

and works between Europe - USA; Strongly inspired by urban culture, and pop surrealism 

movement she has developed her own, very personal, technique and style. Valentina has been 

invited to participate in collaborative art projects all around the world in diverse solo and 

group gallery shows. She has more than ten years of experience on illustration projects with 

several agencies, print and educational work (teaching assistant on university she before attended 

- the Academy of Arts Novi Sad). 

Currently she works as an independent artist focusing on developing her personal self expression 

through painting process and collaborating with worldwide talents and galleries on various 

art projects which allow her to apply her eclectic creativity. 

Education : 

MFA 2009 (Master of Fine Arts) 

Academy of Arts Novi Sad / department for graphic design and illustration 

Area of Specialization: ILLUSTRATION | BOOK DESIGN 

BFA 2006 (Bachelor of Fine Arts) 

Academy of Arts Novi Sad / department for graphic design and illustration 

Solo shows : 

2012 “Dorothy Circus Gallery”, Rome, Italy - serial of paintings “Last drop of innocence” / 

April/ 

2012 “Galo Art Gallery”, Torino, Italy - serial of paintings “visiONs OFF an empty mind” / 

February/ 

2011 “Pagus gallery”, Philadelphia, USA - serial of paintings and drawings ”Circle of life” / 

July/ 

2011 “Fache Arts” Gallery Miami, USA - serial of paintings and drawings - “Meaning of life” 

/December/ 

2010 “Belgrade cultural center” - serial of mixed media illustrations “Why ladybirds eat people?” 

/January/ 

2009 Gallery “Fache Arts” Miami, USA - serial of paintings and drawings “Stories from a 

Neverland” 

Group shows: 

2012 SWAB, international contemporary art fair, Barcelona - Spain 

2012 “Game over”, the Nova Belgica Art Gallery, Saint Truden - Belgium 

2012 “Illustrated”, Pretty Portal gallery, Düsseldorf - Germany 

2011 “Summer show”, Hive Gallery, LA - USA 

2011 “Alterazioni Visive”, Arcidoso - Italy 

2009 “Golden Pen of Belgrade”, International Trienalle of Illustration, Belgrade - Serbia 


an Inner Voice 


2009 “Cut & Paste / postcard exibition” international exhibition, digital graphics, Stockholm 

-Sweden 

2009 “Graphocalypse” exhibition on EXIT music festival, digital graphics, Novi Sad - Serbia 

2006 Group exhibiton of Theatre posters & manifests, Budapest - Hungary 

2006 “Outside Project”, multimedia exhibition, Florence - Italy 

2006 “Golden Pen of Belgrade”, International Trienalle of Illustration, Belgrade - Serbia 

Published works internationaly / magazines, e-publications : 

Juxtapoz, New Web Pick, Castle, Candy, Digital Ink, Chew, Art Nectar, Empty Kingdom, 

Catapult Art Mag, Dailyartfixx, Sweet Station NYC, Upperplayground, Living Design, ecc. 

“I’ve always had a sharp eye and strong emotional attraction for the strange beauty and the 

grotesqueries of life. My inspiration comes from a need to tell a story, to search deep into the 

subconscious layered realms of my soul and hear what it has to tell me, listen to that inner voice 

which has a need to break outside! For me art is life itself, but life in the very essence of it, with 

all the good and bad that it carries along the way.. it demands courage, it demands vision, it 

demands faith, love and devotion! Therefore I find myself, in front of every new canvas, like a 

modest, honest missionary and like a fearless warrior, on the side of light against darkness, in 

search for answers of life, love, meaning, bonds.. in front of every new canvas, over and over 

again I am brave beginner on the exciting quest of discovery and creation! My art is strongly 

focused on figurative narration which on a first look can be a far distance fairy dreamy world set 

in a fantastical landscapes of imaginary which echoes of her own, but I rather like to see them 

as a simple reflection of us - modern society without it’s masks, without the fake presentations 

that make us acceptable no matter which group we are part of. Yet I strongly believe that the only 

place where we are truly revealed the way we are is one from the inside and that’s the one that I 

try to capture on the canvas. I welcome you to my bitter, yet sweetly coated prescription for modern 

life!” 

Valentina Brostean 


valentinabrostean.com 

facebook.com/VALENTINA.BROSTEAN 

etsy.com/people/valentinabrostean








musetouch 220
























Agaphya Belaja 

Agaphya Belaja was born in Leningrad and was graduated from I.E.Repin institute of Painting, 

Sculpture and Architecture, Monumental Studio in 2001. She has been working on a 

creative workshop, Mylnikov AA. Now she is a member of the Artists’ Union of St. Petersburg. 

Her painting are in different styles like impressionism, realism, naturalism, postmodernism 

and fantastic realism. 


academart.com

Far Away 




























Ilia Izachic Isae 

Tell us who is Ilia? 

Ilia Izachic-Isaev started his way to photography through professional design. This explains 

his clear, sharp, refined framing that strikes with it’s nearly surgical precision. Yet it’s not 

something that could be learned. One has to feel it. Ilia’s eye like a scalpel clears out the silt of 

the routine and grunge attitude that covers people, objects, events... Bringing to light the true 

and essential meaning that very often is not recognised by the characters themselves. Ilia’s 

pictures are neat and polished. Each one of them is a self-contained realm where lights are 

playing with shadows and time - with life. Currently Ilia exhibits his works all over the globe, 

creates customer designs, offers exiting workshops. 

How did you first get into photography? 

I had a small digital camera seven years ago. At that time I was not interested in photography 

much. In two years I’ve realised I need a professional camera ‘cos by that time I was fully immersed 

in photography. 

What cameras or techniques do you use? 

Camera: Canon 5D Mark II 

Lens: Canon 24-70 mm f/2.8 L, Canon 50 mm f/1.4 

Tripod: Manfrotto 728B 

Flash: Yongnuo YN560-II + flash sync (Yongnuo RF-603) 

Filter: Marumi C-PL 

What do you know now that you wish you knew when you started? 

On one side - a lot of things changed in that time. On the other side - I’m not sure that all my 

knowledge because of photographs. And on the third side - I don`t remember already, what I 

knew many years ago. 

What are you trying to say with your photographs? I sense the message behind each of 

them... 

I don`t want to say anything with my photos. Photographs are emotions. They don`t need 

words. 

What do you hope to achieve with your photography? 


v One has to Feel It 


I try to live now and here, though not always successful. 

What’s your dream photography project? 

At the moment, I do not have specific projects. but I want to travel the world and show my 

emotions and feelings from what I saw. 

Do you maybe have your favorite photographer...somebody you admire? 

Gregory Colberte. I really like the esthetics of his photographs. 

MS 

isachic.com 































Leslie Ann O’De 

“I am at heart, an intuitive visual artist. I observe and create mostly with my camera. My work 

is emotional, tense, and a bit enigmatic for me. Centered around humans, nature, and my own 

identity...” 

Leslie Ann O’Dell 


leslieannodell.carbonmade.com

ll Enigmatic 


















musetouch 322










Jan Marc Janiac 

“I paint in oil with palette knives. I seek to represent the light and heat of summer, I invite everyone 

to wander and dream in these landscapes, I paint freely, with color and contrast.” 

Jan Marc Janiaczyk 


jean-marc.janiaczyk.pagesperso-orange.fr/Mes_peinturesengl.htm

zyk 

Forgotten Beauty 
























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